TAUNTON — One year to the day that Jared Remy stabbed his girlfriend Jennifer Martel to death in the presence of their then 4-year-old daughter, the slain woman’s family and friends held a memorial in the chapel of Taunton’s First Parish Church.

The ceremony, which included testimonials, songs and a sand ceremony, also served as an urgent reminder to the assembled crowd of 50 that domestic violence continues to plague all corners of society.

The 35-year-old Remy, now serving life without parole after pleading guilty in May to murdering the 27-year-old Martel, is the son of famed Red Sox second basemen, radio color analyst and restaurateur Jerry Remy.

Martel, who was born in Arizona and eventually moved to Massachusetts, was a 2004 graduate of Taunton High School.

She also worked part-time at Market Basket in Raynham before becoming involved with Jared Remy, who developed an infatuation with steroids and painkillers.

Remy, in the years leading up to the murder inside in the couple’s Waltham apartment, also managed to avoid being jailed for a string of assaults, not all of them of a domestic nature.

Two women, one in her 20s and another in her 50s, described how they lived through abusive, push-and-pull relationships with men who could be overwhelmingly cruel and then seemingly affectionate whenever they felt it served their need to control and dominate.

Martel’s father, Brian, who along with his wife Patricia now has legal guardianship of their granddaughter Arianna, said his daughter managed to conceal the degree to which Remy was abusing her both physically and psychologically.

He also said he wishes she would have spoken up before the situation turned deadly.

“Jen should have told us, because no one can help you if you don’t tell them to correct the situation,” he said, before the start of the memorial service.

Martel said his daughter could have been afraid that Remy, who was known for violent outbursts, might threaten her mother if Jennifer confided the truth to her parents.

“He was unpredictable,” Martel said, adding that until his daughter’s death he was unaware of domestic violence.

“I never knew what it was,” he said. “It doesn’t seem real to your family, and then it’s too late. But it’s got to be taken seriously.”

Martel said Arianna is enrolled in a preschool program and is doing well. He and his wife Patricia live in East Freetown.

They moved from Virginia to Massachusetts after their daughter was murdered to appeal for custody of the young girl.

Both families and their lawyers brokered an agreement in probate court last March granting the Martels guardianship of Arianna while allowing Jerry Remy and his wife Phoebe visitation rights.

Page 2 of 3 - Patricia and Brian Martel and other relatives and friends visited the grave site of Jennifer Martel, who is buried in Taunton’s Mayflower Hill Cemetery, before they arrived for the memorial service.

Paula Baxendale, who had been an aunt to Jennifer, said the Remys were invited to the memorial service and were supportive but ultimately declined to attend.

“They didn’t want to be in the limelight,” she said.

Baxendale said if Jennifer, who aspired to be an elementary school teacher, had one major fault it was her unfailing trust in people, especially Jared Remy.

“She had a good heart and believed she could fix everything and change him,” Baxendale said. “But unfortunately, she was taken away from us before she could make him better. She was just a little too late.”

Baxendale said coworker Ted Figlock, who is known around Taunton for his involvement in community causes, suggested a few weeks ago that she contact the Rev. Christana Wille McKnight to see if they could hold the memorial in the historic church, which is located downtown on Church Green.

Some of the testimonials delivered to the crowd, among which were members of television media outlets, were at times light-hearted, recalling the innocence and optimism that played an integral part of Jennifer Martel’s personality.

But for Gabbe Rowland of Falmouth, it was an opportunity to express just how harrowing domestic violence can be, especially for women who are victimized by increasingly violent men who often abuse alcohol and drugs and become obsessed with collecting weapons.

In her case, said Rowland, 24, she became involved with a man in 2011 after his release from a one-year stint in prison on a charge unrelated to domestic abuse.

She said the relationship began well but quickly deteriorated. She suffered a miscarriage, and her once caring partner became increasingly angry and abusive, striking her with his hands and sometimes a belt.

Rowland said he eventually imposed his will by forcing her to inject heroin, perform what she considered to be a lewd sexual act and finally raping her.

Fearing for her life she turned to the district attorney’s office and police. Her former boyfriend is now serving a six-year jail sentence.

“I felt hopeless and destroyed, but I was resilient. It was pure evil,” she said.

Rowland, who now is trying to establish a Falmouth chapter of Break The Silence, a California-based anti-domestic-violence effort, said although she never met Jennifer Martel, she had read about her background and considered her to have been “a remarkable young woman.”

Sarah Elmer told the crowd she’s been involved with the Boston Area Rape Crisis since she escaped a relationship with a man who abused cocaine and began obsessively buying and collecting guns and knives.

Page 3 of 3 - “It was a paralyzing fear,” said Elmer, 53, who has spoken about domestic violence to groups and assemblies throughout the state.

Elmer said she was not beaten, but she said one should never underestimate the harm that can be wrought solely by psychological abuse.

She said “there is no greater abuse to civil society” than domestic abuse.

Nancy Overlook, who was distantly related to Jennifer Martel, sang a stirring and operatic solo rendition of the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

Barry Sanders, the church’s director of religion and eduction, introduced the speakers, and Taunton Police Chaplain Lenny Nelson offered a prayer before the start of the proceedings.